In Sattu Wali Ghati, the outskirt of Dehradun District of Uttarakhand, Idoo Banoo, a widow lives along with her son, who works as a rickshaw puller and is the sole bread winner of the family. Idoo is totally dependent on her son for her needs who himself is financially very weak and could barely arrange good meals for his family in this Ramadan.On 25 July, Idoo and over 300 people majorly widows, laborers, orphans and poor’s from the whole Sattu wali Ghati, had a grand Iftaar dinner organized by US based Indian Muslims Relief and Charities.Over two thousand kilometres east from Uttarakhand, in the North East region of India, 12 year old Smail Haque, an orphan, studies in Madina-Tul-Ulema Hafiza Madarassa in hilly area of Panjabari Ghy in Assam. Since the inception of Ramadan, he along with other Madarassa students, mostly orphans were curiously anticipating the Iftaar on12 July, as IMRC was going to serve them with delicious Biryani, fruits, dates and juice in Iftar cum dinner.
“Having such food is a luxury for us. we don’t get to eat such good food everyday and our Madarassa being in the remote and hilly area, less people turn to help us,” said Haque.Over twenty three hundred kilometers from Assam in Rajasthan, Sharfuddin Ahmed, 45, a laborer lives in Alwar district of Rajasthan. He has to support a family of six. His family along with 1000 other persons were served with hot meals under IMRC “Village Iftaar Program” on July Ist.Every year US based Indian Muslim Relief & Charities organizes such grand Iftaars across India for widows, orphans, poor and needy where thousands of persons are served with hot meals in Iftaar and dinner.This year IMRC reached 414 villages across 22 Indian states benefitting 95,109 persons.“Iftars like these are the only opportunity for widows like me, where we can eat good and eat well,” said Chand Bee, 65 from Zainab Nagar Locality in Hyderabad.
Mukhtar Ahmed, 11, a Rohingya refugee living in a slum in Jammu, collects scrap to sustain his family. He along with his friends Surat, Alam and Hizbul came from their work early on June 26, to have hot meals at Iftaar organised by IMRC for 600 Rohingya refugees at Channi Rama, Jammu.“The food was too good. Me and my friends enjoyed the meals. I wish, Iftaars like these could take place every day,” says Mukhtar.Notably, besides Iftaar programmes , IMRC has also distributed 6,70,395 kgs of grain, over 48,75,600 (4.8 million) meals to 20,315 families benefitting 81,260 persons across 22 Indian states in this Ramadan, besides distribution of new Eid clothes among 12,401 poor and needy beneficiaries is already under progress.IMRC made this ambitious project successful through its Hyderabad based sister organisation Sahayata Trust. While IMRC is responsible for raising money through its generous donors, help from volunteers as well as donations received online, Sahayata Trust is responsible for the implementation of the program on the ground and coordinates with several grass-root organisations across the country to reach out to the needy.